In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The Association of Multilingualism with Diverse Language Families and Cognition Among Adults with and without Education in India with the senior author, Dr. Miguel Arce Rentería. This study leveraged the rich linguistic diversity across all socioeconomic gradients in India to understand how multilinguilism impacts cognition later in life in individuals with and without formal education. Participants were from The Longitudinal Aging Study in India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia which included 4,088 individuals, 54% of whom did not have formal education. Analyses employed education-stratified regression models. Results showed that for individuals with formal education, multilingualism was associated with better cognitive functioning. For individuals without formal education, results differed based on the similarity of languages known by the individual such that those who knew multiple languages that were more similar linguistically (over those who knew multiple dissimilar languages) had better executive functioning than monolinguals. This study adds to our understanding related to the impact of multilingualism (including language similarity) and education on cognition in an aging population.  

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Elaine Schultz discuss the article p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio associates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitively unimpaired older adults with two the paper's authors, Dr. Ruchika Prakash and Michael McKenna. The goal of the study was to examine whether a CSF-based p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted aspects of cognition (global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and executive functioning) over a 2-year period (data collected at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months). This study utilized data from 1,215 older adults through the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative including those who were cognitive unimpaired, those with mild cognitive impairment, and those with Alzheimer's Disease. Results showed that the p-Tau/Aβ42 ratio predicted global cognitive decline and episodic memory decline in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and was able to predict decline in executive functioning across all group. This study highlights the potential impact of Alzheimer's-related pathology in the broader aging population on cognitive abilities, with particular impact on executive functioning. 

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and Dr. Kritika Nayar discuss the article Pediartic cognitive reserve moderates the effect of brain structure in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence for an optimized residual approach with the paper's first author Dr. Zubin Irani. This study examined the construct validity of a residual-based cognitive reserve index in a sample of pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analyses included 115 children, 43 of which met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Each participant underwent neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging at multiple time points. Statistical methods involved elastic-net regularized linear regression. Overall, cognitive reserve was shown to predict academic achievement (math computation at baseline, change in word reading over time). There was also evidence of cognitive reserve moderating the effect of total grey matter volume on baseline academic academic achievement as well as baseline ADHD symptoms. Taken together, results support this methodology for calculating cognitive reserve and its utility in a pediatric population. 

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Lisa Cruz, discuss the article The association of sociodemographic factors with total and item-level semantic fluency metrics with the paper's first author, Magdalena Beran, and senior author Dr. Jet Vonk. In this study, explored the association between sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, sex, level of education) and semantic fluency metrics (e.g., number of words, average cluster size, number of cluster switches, lexical/Zipf frequency, age of acquisition, and lexical decision response time). Analyses utilized data from 3 cross-sectional cohorts, totaling 2,391 individuals. Overall, results indicated that semantic fluency metrics are associated with effects of age, education, and sex/gender which can help to inform the generalizability of semantic fluency data. 

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Ms. Grace Goodwin, discuss the article The role of working memory and organizational skills in academic functioning for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with the paper's first author, doctoral candidate, Ms. Alissa Cole. Using bias-corrected, bootstrapped latent path analyses, this study explored the unique and shared contributions of working memory and organizational skills on academic achievement and performance in a sample of 309 children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Results highlight the extent to which working memory and organizational skills both separately and together impact academic achievement and academic performance, explaining as much as 100% of the variance, as well as eclipsing the diagnosis of ADHD itself in certain models. Overall, findings have strong real-world implications for interventions related to learning for children with ADHD. 

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Elaine Schultz, discuss the article Psychometric properties of two instruments assessing catastrophizing and fear-avoidance behavior in mild traumatic brain injury with two of the paper's authors, Skye King and Dr. Melloney Wijenberg. This study aimed to invesigate the factor structure, internal consistency, test-restest reliability, and concurrent and construct validity of the Postconcussion Symptom Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-CS) and the Fear of Mental Activity Scale (FMA) in a sample of participants with mild TBI compared to orthopedic injury and healthy adults. The sample was comprised of 185 mTBI participants, 180 with orthopedic injury, and 116 healthy adults. Findings supported a three-factor model (magnification, rumination, helplessness) with a higher order factor (catastrophizing) for the PCS-CS and a two-factor model (activity avoidance and somatic focus) for the FMA. Results supported strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. Overall, this study provided evidence of psychometric strength for these measures and support their use in research and cllinical practice in mTBI to better understand prolonged recovery. 

In this episode Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Kritika Nayar, discuss the paper  Language Switching and Speaking a Non-Dominant Language Challenge Executive Control: Preliminary Data for Novel Behavioral Markers of Alzheimer's Risk in Spanish-English Bilinguals, with the paper's authors, Ms. Dalia Lopez Garcia and Dr. Tamar Gollan. In this study, using psycholinguistic analyses, authors explored language switching and speaking a nondominant language as markers of Alzheimer's risk in Spanish-English bilinguals. All 19 participants, who were cognitively healthy, completed neuropsychological testing, a structured interview (in both Spanish and English), and language switching tasks. Following this, 8 individuals were diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In analyzing differences in their performance in this earlier testing, results showed that certain utterances in their nondominant language (e.g., revisions, repetitions, filled pauses) as well errors in a language switching test were particularly indicative of AD risk. Overall, these measures may reflect early decline in executive control abilities and may be valuable indicators of AD risk in this bilingual population.

In this episode, Dr. Scott Sperling and early career leader, Dr. Zachary Resch, will be discussing the paper, Signs and Symptoms Method in Neuropsychology: A Standardized Observational Examination of Cognitive Functions Can Be Effective in Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment, with two of the study authors, Dr. Carlo Abbate & Dr. Alessia Gallucci. In their study, the authors examined the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of what they term the "NeuroPsychological Examination" or "NPE", which is a systematic method of collecting and quantifying cognitive and behavioral symptoms during a clinical interview. The NPE was implemented for 475 participants (208 with MCI, 188 with dementia, and 79 with subjective cognitive decline). Results demonstrated that the number of neuropsychological signs from the NPE could discriminate between all three groups with good sensitivity and specificity, which highlights its utility for clinical neuropsychologists.  

In this podcast, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Kritika Nayar, discuss the paper, Cross-sectional associations of CSF tau levels with Rey’s AVLT: A recency ratio study, with the paper's author, Dr. Davide Bruno. In the paper, associations between traditional memory scores from the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, a novel process-based memory score based on knowledge of serial position effect (i.e, the recency ratio), and CSF biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease, were compared. The study has important implications for the identification of individuals at-risk of developing a neurodegenerative disorder. 

In this podcast, Dr. Scott Sperling and student leader, Dr. Joshua Fox-Fuller, discuss the paper, Multi-Domain Modifiable Dementia Risk Factors Are Associated with Poorer Cognition in Midlife, with two of the paper's authors, Dr. Yen Ying Lim and Ms. Lisa Bransby. This study the examined frequency and co-occurrence of modifiable dementia risk factors in a large cohort of healthy individuals who are at risk of developing dementia. Risk factors were classified into five domains (i.e., mood symptomatology, risky lifestyle behaviors, cardiovascular conditions, cognitive/social engagement, sleep disorders/symptomatology) and examined in relationship to cognition performance.